Locomotive stoker



Oct.A 3, 1933. E. RYAN LocoMoTIvE sToKER NM M wm Nw-; Q nw e R, l -..A.mn E

L T l m Emmi-WER 1 Al i mw d Filed May 9. 1928 Patented Oct. 3, 1933 PATENT 0F UNITED STATES 1,929,038 a i LocoMoTrvE s'rol'ma Edward Ryan, Chicago, Ill., assgnon by direct Y and mesne assignments, to The Standard Stoker Company, Vel' Delaware Incorporated, a ctn'porationV Application-May 9, lzafseriai No. 276,211"

9 claims. (cl. 11o-i101) 'Ihis invention relatesmore particularly to locomotive stokers of the type in which a screw conveyor is employed to'propel the coal through a conduit and into the nre-box. Previous stokers of this type have been open to the objection that the conduit entered the nre-box in such a mannerV as'either 'to be in` the way ofthe fireman or to reduce the grate area. One of the objects of my invention is to overcome this objection.

Prior stokers have also been constructed with a comparativelyrsharp turn in the conduit,` as the result of which'clogging wasv very likely to occur. One of the objects of the present invention is to obviate this diillculty, which object has been attained by locating the main portion of the conduit in an inclined position, the end VofV the conduit near the engine being thus raised so that only a slight curvature is required in the portion of the conduit which connects the main portion voi! the conduit with the lre-box.

Another objection inherent in certain prior stokers is that `the fuel, or a considerable portion of it, is delivered to the combustion space in such flne `particles that the draft carries much of it to the stack before itucan be properly utilized. 'I'he present Vinvention has overcome this ditllculty by providing a preliminary crusher which reduces large lumps of coal and an auxiliary crusher which further reduces the coal -to the desired degree of ilneness, the slight curva-i` ture of the discharge portion "of the conduit preventing any substantial further reduction in siz'e through excessivefriction or pressure. n.

In stokers of the screw conveyor typey it is inevitable that the screw will `deliver more coal at one side of theV conduit than at the other. In previous types of stokers mechanism has been provided for distributing the fuel from the discharge end of the conduitv onto the grate, but

owing to the fact that more of the coal was4 discharged at one side of the conduit than atV the other the distributing means did not produce line of `shafting containing several universal' joints. Such joints being arfrequentl source'of trouble, I have done away with drives of this -type,rand have provided a prime mover which is located where the power isY to beY applied, namely, at the rear end of the conveyor.

A further object of thev invention isjto provide a fuel-tight flexibleconnection the bottom of the fuel bin and the conveyor casing.

' Further objects and A'advantages willV becomev apparent from the vfollowing description takenV in connection with the 'accompanying drawing in which:

Y Fig.' 1 is an elevational View partly in section'4 through the fuel bin, the stokingmechanism and the Vrear part ofthe fire boxrof the tender and locomotive. 3 Y

Fig. '2 is a vertical section throughthe fuel bin and conveyor casing along the line 2-2 of Figjl.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section along the line 3-3 of Fig.V 1. r

Fig. Ii is an enlarged fragmental section of the discharge conduit entering the rear wall of the flrebox.I 'v V Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view along the vline 5-5 OfFig. 4. f Y f y VvFig'. 6 is an enlarged fragmental horizontal section through the adjustable crusher'. 1

Fig. 7 is a transverse section along the line7-'7q of Fig.V 6.

While I have shown in the drawing and will herein'describe in detail Athe preferred embodi-` ment of the invention, itis to be understood thatl I do not intend thereby to limit the invention to the Vspecific form disclosed, but aim to cover all modiflcations and alternative constructions falling within the spirit andfscope ofthe invention as expressed in the appended claims. 3

Vis illustrated in the drawing (Fig. 1) a tender lis shown coupled to 'a locomotive frame 2. Af fuel bin 3 suitably mountedI upon the tenderl is provided witha' bottom having avdischarge opening 4 therein adapted to be closed by a plurality of removable plates 2. AI gate 6 is preferably provided inthe front wall 7 of the binto permit fuel to beV deposited on a manual shoveling deck 8. 8 isv the locomotive deckbniwh'ich the fireman stands while performing his duties. Y The locomotive is provided with a fire box 9 into which fuel from'the'bin 3 is to be fed.' i

. To feed Vthe fuel from the discharge opening 4 when one or more of thel plates 5 are removed and into 'theifire box of the'locomotiv and to prepare the fuel for burning, Iemploya screw 10` rotat-i ably mounted within a conduit or casing 11 which casing forms the Yrearward part of a sectionalfeed conduit and at its rear end is provided with an Vopstanding chute portion. 12 and is supported i from the bin structure. Preferably a rectangu lar-ly apertured'dischargespout 13 (Figs. 1 and 2') surrounds the discharge opening 4 and enters into a rectangular slide ring 14.` The slide ring has aV ang'e '15 extending outwardly from its loweredge, which flange slides on the upper surface 16 of the chute portion 12 and is resiliently tionedbetween the flange 15 and the bottom of thebin;v w

The casing 11 has a pair of laterally extending brackets 18 (Fig. 2) by means of which it issup'- ported at its rear end. A pair of bolts 19 lpass through apertures in the brackets 18 and upward 1y therefrom and are preferably provided vwith'-Y spherical heads 20 at their yupper ends arrangedv to cooperate with spherically lformed seats in` laterally extending brackets-21 on-the bin structure vto provide a swivel supportfor the casing.

Similarly, nuts 19i on the lowerends of the bolts' jforward end the casing is connected through a y swivel or ball joint connection 22 with a discharge Y of, which opening ispositionedabove themud `ring25,

curved conduit 23 which extends into the fire box 9v throughf an opening-'24 in the rear wall 25 there- It will beA apparent that by inclining the. casing ll upwardly' from beneath the bin and having the conduit 23 enter` the fire box above the mud ring the curved end Vportion 1la and the conduit 23 maybe formed so that itslongitudinal axis isl curved upon a largeradius particularly adapted to prevent jamming of the-fuelin the conduit 23 as vit -is pushed upwardly therethrough by the fuel which is still in engagement with'the screwV 10. VAs shown in the drawing, the discharge conduit is curved continuouslyupward,

there beingno reverse curve to causeV jamming of the fuel. Y The conduit 23'preferably has a flange 24a formed integrally= therewith which flange abuts the-outer surface of rthe'flre box wall 25 and may be secured Athereto by suitable clamping bolts 26 (Fig. 5). Thusthe conduitI 2311s rigidly secured to the re box of the locomotive and by means ofthe ball joint 22 effectively forward end of the casing v11. v l

As illustrated herein a prime mover-comprising an engine 27 (Fig. 1) is mounted on a Ys upporting bracket 23 rigidly secured to the rear end vof the casing and is suitably connected to the shaft .of

the screw by means of enclosed ygearing 29andY an aligned drive and driven shafts 60 and 6lrespectively connected by a coupling memberV 62'` which maybe a flexible coupling member if pre--l ferred. In order that vthere need begno `rigid connections betweenY the rear end of the casing and the tender which'would prevent the free movementof the swivel mounting forthe casing' andV the flexible fuel-tight connection with lthe binythe screw shaft is preferably provided with anextension 30 from'which a ylubricating system for the engine maybe driven.

In order that the fuel fedinto the fire box shall beofthe proper size for eilicient combustion the inv'ention provides; a preliminary crusher 3lv within the casing 1.1 adjacent the forward end of vthe'chute 12 and an auxiliary adjustable crusher' 32 positioned in the casing 1l between the preliminary Crusher 31 and the conduit23. As illustrated herein the casing V11 is preferably provided'Y with side pockets vadjacent the receiving ends of vthe .crushers so as toprevent lumps of. fuel .passsupports the` ing directly through with the-screw. Thus before reaching' the preliminary Crusher a large lump would partially :enter the pocket 33 (Fig. 3) and be broken, the fragments being further reduced as they pass the crushing ribs 3l. The adjustable crusher has a pocket 34 (Figs. 6 and 7), the wall of which has crushing ribs. The pocket 34 is preferably formed in a member 35 which is adjustable transversely of the casing 1l in an aperture 36 formed therein. The casing at this point is provided with -a flange 37 surrounding the aperture and yhas a pair of lugs 38 projecting from theopposite ends'ofy the flange arranged to receive bolts 39. The member 35 has similarly projecting lugs 40 so that by placing a shim 4l between the lugs or varying the thickness' of'such ashim, the position of'themem'ber 35 relative to thev screw may be adjusted todetermine the size of the lumps of fuel fed 4into the conduit 23.

To distribute the fuel discharged from the upper end 23EL of the conduit arnozzle head 42 is provided. This nozzle head .is preferably supported on a transversely adjustable slide 43 mounted on a'rearwardly extending bracket portion 44 on the conduit and may be adjusted transversely ofthe conduit by means including avlever 45. The head 42 is preferably provided with side nozzles 46 and '47 (Fig. 5) and end nozzles 48, and at its rear end a steam chamber 49 is arranged to receive steam fromla supply pipe 50 and dischargefit into ports 51V which communicate with` 23 than at the other, or if the draft is greater onv one side of the grate thanon the other, or for any other reason the fuel burns morev quickly on one side thel head and vaney may be adjusted transversely of the conduit tovarythe distribution so as to obtain a uniform thickness on the grate.

An important feature of theapparatus is the provision of a means to cool ,the conduit 23 within the re box so as to prevent destruction thereof dueto the intense heat, As illustrated herein, this means `comprises an external wall or jacket 54 cast integrally Ywith the conduit and providing a water vchamber V55A surrounding the conduit within the fire box. The water may be fed into this chamber through a pipe- 56 and out through a suitable pipe (not shown), onA the opposite side. It' will be apparent from 'the foregoing vthat the novel construction disclosed herein embodies numerous advantageous features; By position# ing the'conveyor'casing so that it is inclined upwardly'and 'connectingit to a discharge conduit of large. radius which-extends into the lfire box- Y,

re box of the boiler without reducing the grate y a'rea thereof and Without taking up space on the deck 8a on which the fireman needs to Work.

By making'the conveyor-fa unitary structure and suspending-it flexibly from the bin structure at its rear end, provision is made to'compensate for any movement'of the bin relatively to the locomotive and to permit the fuel-tight slide ring connection to function properly. The utility of the swivel suspension for the rear end of the casing and the telescopic connection with the fuel bin is augmented by mounting the discharge conduit rigidly on the nre box wall and inserting a ball or other swivel joint intermediate the front end of the casing lland the discharge conduit.

By supporting the prime mover or conveyor engine directly from the conveyor casing, the use of flexible or universal driving connections between the engine and conveyor are entirely eliminated. It will also be Vapparent that by mounting the nozzle head for adjustment transversely of the conduitI the distribution of fuel from the conduit f may be varied and by embodying a dividing vane extending into the conduit, the adjustment feature of the distributing means is rendered more effective to maintain a uniform layer of fuel on the grate under varying operating conditions. In mounting the nozzle head adjustably, it is also embodied in a unitary structure having a steam chamber and relatively short ports connecting the steam chamber with the nozzles.

The operation of the mechanism is further improved by providing both preliminary and auxiliary crushers for the fuel, the auxiliary crusher being adjustable to permit of varying the size of the fuel fed into the discharge conduit. These and other features unite to provide a stoking mechanism which may be readily installed, is easily maintained and which is extremely eflicient in operation.

I claim as my invention: Y Y

1. A locomotive stoker comprising, in combination, a fuel bin, a conveyor casing positioned beneath the fuel bin and extending forwardly therefrom, said casing being arranged to convey fuel for delivery to a locomotive rebox, conveying means within said casing, a prime mover supported from the casing for drivingsaid means, a telescopic connection between the casing and the fuel bin and a swivel support for the rear end of the casing. A

2. In a locomotive stoker, in combination, a fuel bin, a unitary fuel conveyor casing positioned beneath the fuel bin and extending forwardly therefrom, said casing being arranged to .convey fuel yfor delivery to a locomotive flrebox,

to convey fuel for delivery to a locomotive firebox, conveying means within-said casing, a prime mover for driving said means supported by the I rear end of the casing for movement'therewith, and a flexible connection between the casing and the fuel bin for supporting therear end of the casing and arranged to permit swiveling movement of the casing relatively tothe bin in both vertical and horizontal planes. u

4. The combination, with a locomotive firebox and a tender fuel bin, of a dischargeconduit extending kinto the fire-box, a conveyor casing the rear end of which is yieldably mounted which is -exibly connected to the rear end of the discharge conduit, a conveyor within the casing, and a prime mover for the conveyor, said prime mover being attached to the rear `end of the conveyor casing and thus mounted to move with the conveyor casing.

' 5.' In a locomotive stoker, the combination of a lire-box, a conduit for discharging'fuel into the fire-box, a nozzle head projecting over the upper end'of said conduit, said head being bodily adjustable transversely of the conduit, and a dividing vane fixed to the head centrally thereof and projecting downwardly into the conduit.

6. A locomotive stoker comprising in combination, a fuel bin, a firebox having grates therein, a sectional fuel feeding conduit extending from beneath the fuel bin forwardly to the frebox and including a rearward casing section, a screw within said casing, an adjustable crusher comprising a recessed member adjustable transversely of the casing arranged to co-act with the screw to crushi the fuel, and means adjacent the discharge end of the feeding conduit to distribute the fuelonto said grates.

'7. In a locomotive tender having a deck, a locomotive stoker comprising, in combination, a fuel bin, a conveyor casing positioned beneath the fuel bin and extending forwardly therefrom, conveying means within said casing,v gearing for said conveying means disposed at, the rear of the casing, a supporting member rigidly mounted with said casing and extending rearwardly therefrom, a prime mover fixed on said supporting member below the tender deck for driving said conveyor means, said prime mover being rearward of and spaced from the rearward end of' the. casing, and shafting including a couplingV member connecting the prime mover with said gearing. l

8. In a locomotive tender having a deck, a locomotive stoker comprising, in combination, a fuel bin, a conveyor casing positioned beneath the fuel bin and extending forwardly therefrom,

a screw conveyor within said casing, gearing for said screw conveyor disposed at the rear of the casing, a supporting member rigidly mounted withl said casing and extending rearwardly therefrom in a plane below the extended axis of said Yscrew conveyor, a prime mover fixed on said Ysupporting member below the tender deck for .driving said screw conveyor, said prime mover being rearward of and spaced from the rearward end of the casing, and a coupling connection between the prime mover and the gearing.

9. In a locomotive tender having a deck, a 1ocomotive stoker comprising, in combination, a fuel bin, conveyor casing'positioned beneath the fuel bin and extending forwardly therefrom, conveying means within said casing, gearing for said conveying means disposed at the rear of the casing, a shaft for driving said conveying means through said gearing, a motor mounted below the tender deck rearwardly of said gearing having a power shaft for operating said gear drive shaft, said power shaft and said gear drive shaft being in substantial end to end alignment, and a supporting member for said motor rigidly mounted with said casing and extending rearwardly therefrom in a plane below the extended axis ofsaid conveying means, said motor beinig rearward of and spaced from the rearward end of the casing. Y

, EDWARD RYAN. 

